David Brooks @ Aspen Thanks to my drive up I-35 to attend the funeral of a friend's mom, I heard most of this talk by David Brooks re-broadcast by MPR. I was quite taken by his dual assertion that 1) Americans have become increasingly narcissistic in the last half-century or so; and 2) we would live better if we lived among and were people with more modesty.
The first assertion he backed up with lots of numbers from surveys about how people report about themselves and how those numbers have changed over time. He began, however, by describing a radio broadcast of a variety show broadcast on the evening that the Japanese surrendered in WWII and contrasting it to the behavior of a football player this year. The broadcast included the host (Danny Kaye?) saying something like, "We are not proud, we are grateful." He also mentioned someone else's comment: "May we be worthy of the peace." In contrast, the football player did a little victory dance in honor of his score.
Behind the two sets of behaviors, Brooks identified two differing ways of understanding oneself and one's place in the world. He recognized that the Augustinian view that informed the humility or modesty of the WWII era responses had draw backs, but admired it and them, nonetheless. He offered several factors that contribute to the shift toward a culture that fosters self-esteem rather than guarding against pride: individualism and technology contribute. There are losses involved and those losses are communal. No doubt the end of the talk moves to a constructive proposal or at least a call for change.
Certainly a collection of folks who care most about being famous are less likely to do the unsung work of tending the fires of community life.
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